In today\u2019s newsletter<\/a> we\u2019re going to attempt to solve one of the biggest health<\/a> and fitness<\/a> conundrums going: \u201cWe know exercise<\/a> is good for us, so why don\u2019t we do more of it?\u201d<\/p>\n My inspiration came from a PureGym survey that fell into my inbox a few days ago. It found that \u201c76 per cent of adults aspire to be fit and healthy\u201d, but \u201conly three in 10 people in the UK meet recommended weekly activity levels\u201d.<\/p>\n Few, if any, people set out to live an unhealthy life \u2013 I\u2019d wager most actively chase the opposite. But there\u2019s a significant disconnect between wanting to be fitter and actually doing the things we know will get us there. Why?<\/p>\n To answer this, I like to look at exercise like a detective in a crime drama \u2013 people need motive, means and opportunity. It requires enough gumption to get out of the door; the time, energy and resources to take part; and a conducive environment to keep going.<\/p>\n These criteria are hard to hit in 2026, courtesy of a cost of living crisis, increasingly busy schedules, and alternatives to exercise (phones, social media, streaming services and so on) being specifically engineered to steal your time.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no absolute solution to this, but we can shrink the obstacles standing in our way to make them easier to overcome. To do this, the best expert-backed method I\u2019ve encountered is exercise snacking<\/a>. <\/p>\n The premise is simple: short bursts of equipment-free activity that can test your muscles and get you out of breath, spread throughout the day in digestible chunks lasting no more than five minutes. For example, climbing a few flights of stairs at a brisk pace or performing a series of squats and press-ups at your desk \u2013 this article<\/a> has plenty of ideas to help you get started.<\/p>\n For most, this no-cost approach tends to be more palatable than a string of hour-long gym trips or lengthy runs. Exercise snacking also breaks up lengthy periods of sitting down<\/a>, which can have bonus health benefits, according to recent research from Brunel University London.<\/p>\n \u201cThe concept of \u2018exercise snacks\u2019 has genuine research support,\u201d Jack McNamara, clinical exercise physiology course leader at the University of East London, told me in a recent interview. <\/p>\n \u201cThe evidence suggests those snacks are most effective when they\u2019re vigorous enough to elevate heart rate meaningfully and when they\u2019re part of a broader pattern of regular physical activity. For the many who cite lack of time as their main barrier to exercise, knowing that a few minutes here and there genuinely counts could be transformative.\u201d<\/p>\n This advice is less for seasoned exercise veterans and more for those who struggle to squeeze movement into their regular routine.<\/p>\n If you are in this latter group and can factor three or more five-minute bursts of exercise into each day, you will have strengthened muscles across your entire body and accumulated 105 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise (exercise that gets you breathless) by the end of the week.<\/p>\n This is in excess of the NHS physical activity guidelines of \u201cat least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity a week\u201d. If you can accumulate a decent number of daily steps too, you could transform your health.<\/p>\n To what extent? For this query, I spoke to University of Sydney researchers Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis and Dr Nicholas Koemel. Their work confirms that small positive changes can have a disproportionately impressive impact on how you look, feel and function.<\/p>\n
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